Key Biscayne hotel sold

The Sonesta Beach Hotel was sold to AMI-Consultatio S.A., an Argentine development group, for $78 million, a deep price cut from its 2005 estimated value of $120 million. Consultatio and affiliate Key Biscayne Consultatio will raze the 40-year-old hotel and build a 165-unit ultra-luxury condominium once the market improves. South American investors are in a strong position, and may do more investments in South Florida, according to Manny de Zarraga, executive managing director with Holliday Fenoglio Fowler in Coral Gables, which was involved in the Key Biscayne deal.